Guest

o.k this is the first post so be nice!
i have a problem and wonder if anyone can help out, i have been thinking about putting a camera system on my motorbike, but with two cameras going to a splitter box and then onto a DV camera. the splitter box would have a handlebar mounted switch that would determine which camera was in use at the time by switching between the two camera inputs, thinking that a relay will be best t0 do the remote switching, but there is going to be a massive transients occuring when the switching takes place. so i am looking for a way to perform the switching smoothly by creating an 'electronic' crossfade from one signal to the other. anyone got any ideas how this can be ahieved that could help me out?
Cheers
WN

Active Member

You will always get a slight shift when switching video unless you have a couple of things correct.

1. video timing need to be the same for both cameras and switcher. known as genlock.
2. line 7 switching. which is when the switcher will cut cleanly at the right time.

There is something called the 8 field sequence where you get a shift in picture also...

How much is your budget?

you could get hold of 2 cheap camcorders with ext i/p on ebay, and edit between them? of course, you will have issues with sync!
I believe the setup for the GS adventures for the long way round had switching manually between helmet and bike cams. I am actally thinking of getting into this field of work as I am a biker and a broadcast engineer!

Let me know if you fancy throwing some money at it, and I could look into what you can get.

Regards,

Gareth.

"Flying is an art, or rather a knack...
This knack lies in learning to throw yourself
at the ground and miss..."